The River with Many Sources
The Timavo River is associated with the most famous figures of ancient Greek mythology: Heracles, Orpheus (who descended into the underworld), Castor, Nestor, Asclepius (Aesculapius), Augeas, Jason, Laertes (father of Odysseus), Laocoon, and Theseus-the Argonauts.
The source of the mystery.
If the myth is true, then they were all here. Over two thousand years ago near Duino, where the enigmatic little Timavo River springs from the karst.
What the ancient Greeks did not yet know: The Timavo is not actually a spring, but a river that flows 35 km underground.
It is therefore way more than just 2 kilometers long. From the Skocjan Cave, it disappears into the karst. Its further course remains unknown.
Until it reemerges between Monfalcone and Duino.
San Giovanni in Tuba
Altar area
Genius Loci
Special Places and Their Magic
Whether among the Etruscans, the Celts, the Romans, or the ancient Greeks, springs were considered sacred in antiquity. Not far from the spring, there is a small church called San Giovanni in Tuba.
Like so many others, it was built on the site of an ancient natural sanctuary (this is why churches are often found in such strangely exposed spots in the landscape-they are the sites of ancient pre-Christian natural sanctuaries).
San Giovanni is remarkable in that mosses and ferns sprout from the foundation walls of the previous sanctuary in the altar area. If you look closely, you can see it in the photo on the right.
A quick glance at the map makes it clear beyond a doubt:
It is indeed the northernmost of all the northern waters of the Adriatic Sea. You cannot go any further north on the Adriatic waterway than the Timavo. To the north, the Adriatic Sea ends here.
A fact that makes the Timavo a special place, even geographically speaking.
Update [2026]:
As is often the case with unsolved mysteries, they keep some people up at night. And so it took more than 2,000 years before a speleologist got to the bottom of the matter. There, at a depth of 300 meters, he not only made some interesting discoveries but also actually found the Timavo River - and an olm.